[3] The painted spiny pocket mouse is a medium-sized species and grows to a head and body length of about 12 cm (4.7 in) with a tail as long again, males being slightly larger than females.

Its typical habitat is dry deciduous woodland or bushy scrubland and it occurs near streams in otherwise arid regions, often in places with cactus and acacia.

It lives in a burrow and engages in such activities as sand bathing, collecting seeds in its cheek pouches, caching food, scratching and caring for its coat.

[4] Breeding takes place throughout most of the year, though few pregnant females were recorded between December and February and male mice had smaller testicles during that period.

The IUCN lists it as being of "least concern" as, although its population trend is downward due to forest clearance, it is not declining at a rate so fast as to warrant a more threatened category.